Anti-wrap device for rug cleaning machine



May 19, 1959 R. J. EYGABROAD ANTI-WRAP DEVICE FOR RUG CLEANING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001:. 8. 1956 L, L2 L,

IN VEN TOR. fines/Pr :2 5 76 78190 10 May 19, 1959 R. J. EYGABROAD ANTI-WRAP DEVICE FOR RUG CLEANING MACHINE Filed Oct. a. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent C ANTI-WRAP DEVICE FOR RUG CLEANING MACHINE Robert J. Eygabroad, Monroe County, N.Y., asslgnor to The American Laundry Machinery Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio This invention relates to a safety device applicable to a. rug cleaning machine of the type wherein the rug first passes over a feed roll where it is scrubbed on its front surface and then past a back brushing roll for cleaning its back surface. The purpose of the present invention is to stop the machine drive if a rug begins to wind around the rotating back brushing roll so as to prevent damage to the rug and to the machine.

More particularly, an object of the present invention is to provide a rug sensing member movably mounted adjacent the periphery of the back brushing roll at a point subject to engagement by a rug as it begins to wind around the back brushing roll, together with means responsive to the movement of this rug sensing member for disabling the driving connection to the main feed roll.

Other objects of the invention will be clear from the accompanying drawings and description and the essential features thereof will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a partial central sectional view through a rug cleaning machine looking toward the right-hand side of the machine;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower left central portion of Fig. 1 as seen from just inside the right-hand frame of the machine but looking toward the left-hand side;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectional view taken from the position of the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing the parts involved in the operation of the present invention; while Figs. 4 and 5 are alternative electrical circuit diagrams showing two different control arrangements for the present safety device.

This invention is shown as applied to a rug cleaning machine of the type shown in the copending patent of Clarence A. Ketchum and William D. Kemp, Serial No. 453,556, filed September 1, 1954, now Patent No. 2,878.- 151 granted April 2, 1957, although it will be understood that the invention is applicable to other types of rug cleaning machines.

The details of the Ketchum and Kemp rug cleaning machine will be understood from the copending patent mentioned above, but sufiicient information about that machine will be given here to understand the operation of the present invention. Referring to Fig. l, a rug to be cleaned is placed over the auxiliary roll and onto the top of the main feed roll 11 which is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown by the arrow of Fig. l by means later described. Control fingers 12 operated as the rug advances under them, turn on the several water and soap sprays of which 13 is a pre-wetting spray pipe, 14 a liquid soap spray. 15 a top rinse, 16 a back soap spray, and 17 a back rinse spray. Reciprocating brushes 18 scrub the face of the rug, and as the rug advances it goes under a hold-down roll 19 and is next contacted by the back brushing roll 20 which is also rotated in a counterclockwise manner as indi- 2,886,838 Patented May 19,1959

cated by the arrow in Fig. 1 by means later described. The roll 20 has the tips of its brushing bristles substantially tangent to the roll 11 and serves to strip the leading edge of the rug from the roll 11 and carry the same toward the left as viewed in Fig. 1 against a back-up plate 21 which is resiliently urged toward the rug face by the spring 21 as more completely described in the above mentioned copending patent. As the rug progresses through the machine, the back thereof is thus scrubbed by the rotating brush 20, after which the leading edge encounters the conveyor 22, the upper run of which is traveling toward the left as viewed in Fig. l and carries the rug to a wringer, not shown.

It will be understood by those familiar with this art that the main frame of the machine comprises two end frames 9 parallel to each other and spaced apart by a distance greater than the width of the rug to be operated upon. Directly inside of each of the end frames and generally parallel thereto is a generally L-shaped arm 23 which is pivotally mounted to its associated side frame at 24, so that the two lever arms 23 provide a common mounting means supporting the main feed roll 11 and certain other devices which operate on the rug such as the hold down roll 19, the back brushing roll 20 and the backing plate 21. The shaft for feed roll 11 is carried in bearings in the free ends of the arms 23, and these arms are connected to screw jacks 25 whereby the feed roll is movable toward and from the brushes 18 to accommodate rugs of different thickness. The back brushing roll 20 is journaled in two bracket members 26, one at each end, and this bracket member in turn is pivotally mounted on one of the arms 23 at 26a and is supported by an adjustable link 27 with another part of the arm on the side of roll 20 opposite the pivot 26a. The brush roll shaft 20a extends out through an opening in the right-hand frame 9 and carries a sprocket in the location indicated at 28 in Fig. 1. This is driven by a chain .29 from a larger sprocket 30 freely rotatable on an extension of the arm pivot shaft 24. Compounded with sprocket 30 is a smaller sprocket 31 which in turn is driven by a chain 32 from a sprocket on the wringer roll shaft, not shown. The prime mover in this case is an electric motor, indicated in the electrical diagrams, and which drives the wringer roll shaft. At the opposite side of the machine from the drive just described, the feed drum 11 is driven in the same direction as the brush roll 20, but at a lower speed, by sprocket 33 fixed to the feed drum drive shaft 11a and which is driven through chain 34 from a sprocket 35 of approximately the same diameter as sprocket 33 which is freely rotatable on the arm pivot 24, and driven from a sprocket (not shown) on the wringer roll shaft. Thus, the drive from the wringer roll motor is not stepped up with respect to feed roll 11 in the manner of the drive described for brush roll 20.

Ordinarily, the free end of the rug being cleaned will move past the brushing roll 20 without difficulty, but it has occasionally happened that a loose string or fringed edge has been entangled in the brush 20 so that the rug is carried around and wrapped on the periphery of the brush 20. This, of course, is damaging to the rug since it is pulled over the feed roll at a higher rate of speed than normal and, worse, it has its nap side brought into contact with the sharp points or tines 11b on the surface of the feed roll. It is the object of the present invention to automatically detect such a winding of the rug upon the brush roll 20 and to cut off the driving action of the feed roll 11 when such an accident occurs.

It should be understood that wherever I use the term disabling with reference to the power means which drives the feed roll 11, I mean to includeeither the stopping of. a motor, such as the de-energizing of an electrical motor drive, or the disconnecting of a clutch in the line of drive between the prime mover and the feed roll, or even the applying of a brake to stop the feed roll where an appropriate slip drive is used between the prime mover and the feed roll so that braking of the feed roll drive will not harm the slip or friction drive.

In the embodiment shown herein, an electrically driven motor is utilized as the prime mover and the means for detecting the wrapping of the rug about the brush roll 20 includes fingers 45 movably mounted adjacent the periphery of the brush roll 2t) and movable away from the brush roll when a rug starts to wrap around the roll so as to thereby cause the actuation of a switch in the electrical circuit for the drive motor so as to disable or terminate the drive. The mounting means for the fingers 45 and the switch actuating mechanism connected therewith will now be described. A bracket 36 is secured to a machine cross brace 37 (which extends "between the end frames 9) by a pair of U-bolts 38 and a set screw 39. At the free end of this bracket, there is mounted a bearing member 40, fastened in place by the cap screws 41. A hearing hub portion 40a of the member 40, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, has mounted thereon for free rotation thereabout a switch support member 42. The bearing hub portion has a central bore which freely supports shaft 43 passing therethrough.

This latter shaft extends out a short distance past the hub portion as seen at the bottom of Fig. 3 and has secured to it a switch actuator member 44, held in place by set screw 44a. The shaft 43 extends across the major portion of the width of the machine and is provided with spaced bearings, not shown, connected with the frame brace 37 by brackets like 36. Spaced along the shaft 43 (across the width occupied by a rug) are fingers 45 which are secured to the shaft 43 for rotation therewith by set screws 45a. The actuator member 44 has at its outer end a weight 44c which biases the shaft 43 and the attached fingers 45 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 so as to hold the ends of the fingers 45 closely adjacent the periphery of the brush roll 20. This position is fixed by the downwardly extending arm 44b of the actuator 44 which engages against a stop pin 42a adjustably mounted in the support member 42.

It is desirable to maintain the fingers 45 closely adjacent the periphery of the brush roll 20 in all adjusted positions of the feed roll 11 with respect to the scrubbing brushes 18. An obvious way to accomplish this would .be tomount the assembly which carries the fingers 45 on the arms 23, along with other parts associated with the feed roll 11, but there was a practical matter of space limitation in the machine as well as the desirability of an arrangement which would be a simple adaptation to add to the standard machine disclosed in the above mentioned copending patent. ,position of fingers 45 relative to roll 20 in various adjusted positions of the feed roll 11 is accomplished by connecting support member 42 by means of link 47 to one of the main support arms or levers 23. In this particular design, the link 47 is connected at the same point as link 27 on arm 23 although this relation is not always essential. The arms 23 move about center 24 as the adjustment is made of the main feed roll 11 with respect to the scrubbing brushes 18. Since the finger bearing shaft 43 is fixed relative to the frame of the machine, the relation of fingers 45 and the periphery of roll .20 is accomplished by controlling the pivoting of the fingers forward or backward in their position limited by stop pin 42a. This is effected automatically by the .link 47 between the support member 42 and the main arm 23. As clearly seen in Fig. 2, if the feed roll '11 and the cooperating brush roll 20 is lowered somewhat, the-movement of the brush roll being about center 24 will he toward the fingers 45. However, the fingers :45 are at the same time swung counterclockwiseto main- This coordination of the tain their relationship to the brush. This is effected by the downward movement of the link 47 which pivots the support member 42 counterclockwise and thereby moves actuator 44, shaft 43, and the fingers 45 around counterclockwise as a unit. To obtain the correct movement, the disposition and center distances of the associated members must, of course, be properly related. However, there being a large number of variables in this problem, the solution depicted in the patent drawings is only one ofmany which might he arrived at.

' The stop 42b on member 42 is merely to engage arm 44b to prevent a complete flip-over of fingers 45 and actuator 44 if fingers 45 were swung far or forcibly by the end of a rug.

To disable the drive between the electric motor M and the feed roll 11, a switch 46 is provided in the energizing circuit for the motor M and this switch is under control of the fingers 45. The switch 46 is mounted on the support member 42 as clearly seen in Fig. 2. Its operating plunger 46a is held depressed or in switch closing position by the leg 44b of the actuator member 44 in the position of the parts in Figs. 2 and 4. The switch 46 is a normally open switch being biased in the open direction by a spring as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4. A comparison of Figs. 2 and 4 will thenshow that if a rug, moving in the direction of the broken line arrow A of Fig. 2, starts to wrap around the brush roll 20 in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2 (or counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 1)., it will soon come between the fingers 45 and the periphery of roll 20 causing the fingers 45 to move in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. This will cause the leg 44!; of the actuator 44 to move in the same direction because it is attached to the shaft 43 actuated by fingers 45. This will cause the arm 44b to move away from the switch actuator 46a allowing the switch to move to its normally open position which will break the energizing circuit to the motor M as will next be described.

Disabling of the drive motor responsive to release of switch 46 may be done in any suitable way. Fig. 4 shows a circuit which may be used. The switch 46 in this case is a normally open one as has already been described and ordinarily held closed by the weighted actuator 44, but releasable in response to contact of the fingers 45 with a rug caught between the fingers and the brush roll. The drive motor M is of the reversible type under the control of a reversing switch RS and the main switch S. Normally, the reversing switch will be left in the forward position, with the row of contacts f closed and in contact with row a. To start the motor, push button 48 is operated making circuits as follows: from L1, lines 49, 5t normally closed stop switch 51, line 52, push button 48, lines 53, 54, switch 46, lines 55, 56, switch actuating solenoid coil C, and line 57 to L2. Energization of coil C closes the main switch S, connecting L1, L2, and L3, respectively to motor terminals T1, T2 and T3, by way of contact rows a and f of switch RS. A holding contact 11 in the main switch closes establishing a shunt circuit around push button 48 as follows: L1, lines 49, 50, switch 51, lines 52, 58, contact h, lines 59, 54, switch 46, lines 55, 56, coil C and line 57 to L2.

Since the switch 46 is in this holding circuit, opening of the switch by a caught rug breaks this circuit to the switch coil, permitting movement of the switch 55 to its normally open position and de-energizing the drive motor M. Switch RS may then be reversed, moving the contacts in row r closed in contact with those in row :1, thereby setting up leads connected from L1 to T3 and from L3 to T1, L2 to T2 being, of course, unchanged. In this position of the contacts, a pair of contacts a-l, r-It are closed, setting up an auxiliary circuit to the starter coil, bypassing switch 46. Thus the operator may depress the push button 60, making a circuit from L1, lines 49,61, push button 60, line 62, contacts r-l,

a-l, lines 63, 56, starter coil C, and line 57 to L2. This energizes the motor in reverse, backing out the rug which may then be released from the brush roll 20.

In the circuit just described, a momentary opening of switch 46 sufiices to break the holding circuit and to open the main switch. This was found undesirable due to a particular condition in the machine which would permit this to happen even when a rug was not caught around the brush roll 20. For instance, when the trailing edge of a rug passes out from under the hold down roller 19, the rotary brush 20 flips the rug end down and back. Occasionally this trailing end would hit the fingers 45 and stop the motor. Consequently, an arrangement as shown in Fig. has been adopted which is essentially similar to the one just described, but with a time delay added so that momentary opening of a switch like 46 will not stop the drive motor.

To understand the electrical circuit of Fig. 5, it is necessary to understand that the switch 80 is in the same position on the machine as the switch 46 just described, except that switch St is a normally closed switch which is held in open position when the parts are in the position of Fig. 2 and the fingers 45 are close to the periphcry of brush roll 20. Then, when the fingers 45 are moved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 and 5, switch 80 is permitted to close under its natural tension in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 5 which establishes a circuit to a time delay motor 81 which is normally in the position as shown in Fig. 5 with the contact member 81a in the inoperative position of Fig. 5 d

and held there by a tension spring 81b. Energization of motor 81 causes it to drive the contact member 81:: in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 5. After about 90 degrees travel, in this direction, the member 81a will engage the actuator of normally closed switch 73 so as to open this switch and de-energize the driving motor VI.

In Fig. 5, the starting circuit is from L1, lines 64, 65, normally closed contacts of push button switch 66, line 67, stop switch 68, line 69, push button 70, lines 71, 72, time delay switch 73, lines 74, 75, starter coil C, and lines 76, 77 to L2. Contact h in switch 8 closes a holding circuit from L1, lines 64, 65, normally closed contacts of switch 66, line 67, switch 68, lines 69, 78, contacts h, lines 79, 72, switch 73, lines 74, 75, coil C, and lines 76, 77, to L2.

If a rug caught around brush roll 26 operates the fingers 45 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2 and 5, a normally closed switch 80 is permitted to close as previously mentioned making a circuit to the small time delay motor 81. This energizing circuit is from L1, lines 64, 65, normally closed contacts of switch 66, line 67, switch 68, lines 69, 78, contacts h, lines 79, 72, 82, switch 80, line 83, motor 81 and lines 84, 77 to L2. When motor 81 has moved the contact mover 81a approximately 90 degrees from the zero position of Fig. 5, switch 73 is thereby opened which breaks the maintaining circuit to the main switch coil C, thus permitting the main switch S to move to its normally open position cutting off the energization of 6 the motor M and stopping the drive of the feed roll 11. As the switch S opens, contacts break the energizing circuit to the time delay motor 81 which then goes back to its starting position as shown in Fig. 5 under the tension of spring 8111, thus permitting switch 73 to be closed. Now the operator moves the drum switch RS to close the contacts of row r with row a. Depressing the push button switch 66 then operates the main switch S, the circuit going from L1, line 64, normally open contacts of switch 66, line 85, contacts r-l, a-l, lines 86, '75, coil C, and lines 76, 77 to L2. The supply lines to the motor M being reversed, the rug is backed out of its tangled position. A time delay relay could, of course, be utilized in place of the motor-switch arrangement 81, 73, or other geared-down motor switch delays could be used, the showing being merely diagrammatic. This would give the desired delay between the closing of switch 80 and the opening of switch 73.

It has thus been shown how my invention may be operated either using a normally closed switch 46 or a normally open switch 89. It is obvious that the opening or closing of a switch might be utilized to operate a clutch or a brake as described above in connection with the description of the term disabling as applied to the main drive motor. Broadly, my invention includes a trip means positioned to disable a drive motor at any time that a rug is caught around the brush roll 20.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rug cleaning machine having a frame, having a feed roll, having a back brushing roll closely adjacent said feed roll at a point of near-tangency and with the peripheral axially extending elements of said rolls mutually parallel, having common mounting means rotatably supporting said two rolls and said mounting means having an adjustable connection with said frame, including power means having a driving connection with said feed roll; the combination therewith of additional means movably mounting a rug sensing member in said frame adjacent the periphery of said back brushing roll at a point more than degrees around said brushing roll from the point of near-tangency in the direction of brushing roll rotation, means responsive to movement of said rug sensing member away from said brushing roll for disabling said power means driving connection, and means for holding said rug sensing member a substantially fiXCl distance from said brushing roll responsive to move ments of said mounting means adjustable connection.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for disabling said power means driving connection includes time delay means operatively connected with said run sensing member for disabling said power means driving connection at a delayed interval after initial operative movement of said rug sensing member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,324,416 Stewart Dec. 9, 1919 2,343,732 Baird Mar. 7, 1944 2,632,545 Schubert Mar. 24, 1953 2,787,151 Ketchum et al. Apr. 2, 1957 

